Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
1.5/4
"The Spirit" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 03/19/2012
Frank Miller's first foray behind the camera is inevitably based on a graphic novel featuring an unkillable crime fighter and his evil nemesis, The Octopus. Superficially it resembles Robert Rodriguez' film version of Miller's own Sin City, no doubt the inspiration for Miller's decision to tackle a cinematic project of his own. The difference is that Rodriguez is an experienced and skilled film maker, whereas Miller just has a very good eye for an image. The Spirit for me just seemed like an exercise in "Film Noir For Dummies". All the ingredients are here, but the action is half hearted and unexciting and although it has a tongue in cheek approach, it just isn't funny. The result resembles a Saturday morning cartoon; the Octopus' henchmen in particular are straight out of Adam West's …
Rating of
0.5/4
WORST FILM OF THE DECADE!!!
The Film Rebel - wrote on 04/17/2010
2008 was a fucking FANTASTIC year for movies. I'd go as far as to say it was the best year in movies since 1994. There were more good movies then there were bad ones. Sure, there was some shit such as those god awful spoof movies, "Max Payne", and "Mummy 3", but other than a few turds, the toilet that was 2008 was pretty clean. I saw the trailer for "The Spirit"(Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's beloved comic book series) back when I want to see "The Dark Knight". I loved the visual style and I loved the tone, this looked like a fun cross between "Sin City" and "Dick Tracy".
Well, the week "The Spirit" I was fixing to see it with my dad. However, our weekend was a bit too busy and we didn't get a chance. One week later, we find out that it's doing very shitty in box office …
Rating of
2/4
Not enough good to overcome the bad.
filmfan09 - wrote on 05/16/2009
Unlike Sin City, which layered impressive visuals with an engaging, smart and fast-paced story, The Spirit doesn't have anything as remarkable to fall back upon. This is due in large part to the participation of adaptor/director Frank Miller (who is on his own here after assisting Robert Rodriguez on Sin City). The film takes the stylized neo-noir look of Sin City and marries it with the campy tone of the ’60s Batman series. As expected, it doesn’t work out very well.
The lead character is played by Gabriel Macht. As a result of something that happened in his past, The Spirit is made invulnerable. He can be wounded or injured but his body regenerates very quickly. The same can also be said about his nemesis, The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson). The Octopus wants unlimited power and …
Rating of
1.5/4
This Is One Bullet The Spirit Cannot Dodge.
LeopardExplosion - wrote on 01/04/2009
It seems that every woman Denny Colt (The Spirit) crosses, he can't help but fall in love with them. But nothing compares with his beloved city. Gabriel Macht plays Central City vigilante The Spirit, in hot pursuit of finding the criminal mastermind Octopus, who is filled with odd schemes and nefarious plots. While the two duke it out good vs. evil, many other life-long experiences interfere.
Frank Miller's directorial debut can be easily be described as a 'joke.' Entertaining action sequences, though Horrible writing, bad acting, and a bland broken plot, leave this comic-caper flick to burn.
The Spirit will intrigue you, just to reach a new low, because as I waited and viewed to see what came next, the cheesy dialogue you just can't get past. The cool art style is beneficial …
Rating of
2.5/4
Not Spiritual Enough and Too Much WTF
Alex - wrote on 12/31/2008
I really wanted to like this movie, I really did. But, it just had too many crazy, unnecessary scenes to be considered good.
I really liked the main character and I also enjoyed the women that were involved. Sam Jackson was a little bit too crazy but he wasn't the worst part about it. The story was kind of cool and it was nice the way it unraveled. The cinematography was great most of the time and the music was even cool.
So what went wrong? Frank Miller. As a first time director (at least alone) he missed a lot. He tried to put too much of himself into this movie and not enough of the story. This isn't sin city and it's not supposed to be. But some how you can tell he is trying to make it Sin City 1.5. It didn't work. The raw, cool, multi story flavor of sin city …
Rating of
3/4
The Spirit is Willing, if Not Quite Able
Chris Kavan - wrote on 12/27/2008
First things first, The Spirit is really corny. It's ham-tastic. It's government-issued cheese-like material. However, knowing this before you see The Spirit makes it highly enjoyable.
If you're expecting the grit of Sin City or the testosterone spectacle of 300, then look elsewhere. The Spirit, while it shares the look of Sin City, black, white and a dash of color every now and then. That, however, is about all it shares (well, that, and the fact it's based on a graphic novel).
The only thing missing from The Spirit is the BOFF! and BLAM! captions when toilets and bathtubs are hurled with great efficiency during the opening down and dirty fight. Samuel L. Jackson is in full Snakes on a Plane Over-the-Top mode here playing The Octopus - a man who wants to be a god, really hates …
